Horse and pony harness



IN V EN TOR.

Feb. 19, 1963 A. c. BUEHLE R 3,077,710

HORSE AND PONY HARNESS Filed July 15, 1960 United States Patent3,077,710 HORSE AND PONY HARNESS Albert C. Buehler, 88 Hawly Woods,Barringtou, Ill. Filed July 15, 1960, Ser. No. 43,066 3 Claims. (Cl. s47s The invention relates generally to harness means for horses andponies, and more particularly to means for improving their appearancewith respect to the form and apparent position of their tails when theyare on display or in competitive judging shows.

There are a large number of factors upon which the professional orexperienced judge of horses and ponies bases his opinion for the winnerin a show or contest. Among these are the general proportions of thepony, that is, overall length to height, stance, the condition of thehair, relative size of muscles, condition of the mouth and teeth, normalposition of the ears, and numerous other factors which in the opinion ofthe expert add grace, beauty, and value to the animal.

One important factor is the condition of the mane and more particularly,the condition and appearance of the tail.

It has become recognized that a tail which appears initially to extendupwardly and which has a great deal of hair is a desirable factor whichinfluences judges in awarding prizes in competitive shows, and is alsoof significance in the stud fees which stallions may comm-and and theprice at which mares may be sold.

It has therefore become the practice of breeders of horses, particularlyShetland ponies (towhich this application refers in a generic sense) toemphasize the erectness and fullness of the tail of exhibition and showponies. This has been done in the past largely by braiding into thenatural hair of the poneys tail, hair of matching color derived fromanother animal. Various expedients have also been employed to cause theartificial portion of the tail adjacent the body of the pony to be heldin a more or less upright position in order to enhance the generalappearance of the pony. However, such devices as used in the past havebeen generally uncomfortable to the pony and resulted in sores due tochafing, and because of this discomfort the ponies were less tractableand sometimes showed tempermental and unwanted displays of irritation.

To overcome these deficiencies of the prior art devices, I have provideda simple, easily attached, and easily adjusted device for apparentlymaintaining the tail of a pony in an acceptably good form andconformation, without harming or irritating the pony.

It is thus an object of the invention to provide an improved supportingmeans for artificial additions of hair to the natural tail.

Other objects will become apparent from the following description,reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is aside elevational view of a pony equipped with the improved artificialtail hair supporting means;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the artificial tail hair supportingmeans; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

In general, the harness in its simplest form, as used in pony judgingcontests and the like, comprises the customary bridle strappings 10 witha pair of reins 12 secured to the bridle rings 14, as well as to thesurcingle or belly band 16. A strap 26, buckled at one end to the ellyband 16, is split at its rearward end into two end portions 22 which arebuckled respectively to the forward ends of the crupper 20. As iscustomary, the crupper comprises a leather cover 28 around suitablepadding and around one or more metal rods 30, the leather coveringhaving buckles 32 at its ends for attachment to the straps 22.

Suitably conformed rods 34 are brazed to the rods 30 and are threaded attheir outwardly extending ends to receive positioning nuts 36. Theserods 34 are made of a deformable material such, for example, as a softbrass, so that they may be bent back and forth without fracture and actas supports for a hollow tubular artificial tail support element 38which is conformed, as illustrated, to extend upwardly and rearwardlyfrom the pony adjacent the base of the tail to provide a pair ofinverted U-shaped portions 40 for support of the unnatural toupee or Wighair to supplement the natural hair of the tail.

The rods 34 may be sent to a certain degree to adjust the U-shapedportion 42 of the support, and its height may be adjusted further byproper positioning of the nuts 36 on the rods 34. It will be apparentthat the nuts 36 form abutments against which the end portions of thesupport 38 rest, due to the weight of the support and the artificialtail carried thereby. Such adjustment is very easily accomplished sothat the trainers and handlers may, within a very short time, adjust theponys artificial tail hair to a position providing the best presentationfor judging or display.

Additional hair in a toupee-like assembly may be attached to support 33,as by a drawstring, such additional hair being interbraided, interlaced,or interwoven with the natural hair of the ponys tail, so as to providethe desired appearance of a full, bushy tail, and thus enhance the ponysappearance.

By use of this invention, the ponys actions during showing or judgingwill be normal because the support for the artificial tail hair does notchafe, and furthermore, does not result in sores. Also, the artificialtail support is readily adjustable to maintain the tail in a positionwhich the trainer or handler believes will make the best impression uponthe judges or prospective purchasers.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention,it will be apparent that numerous variations and modifications thereofmay be made without departing from the underlying principles of theinvention. I therefore desire, by the following claims, to includewithin the scope of the invention all such variations and modificationsby which substantially the results of my invention may be obtainedthrough the use of substantially the same or equivalent means.

I claim:

1. In a harness apparatus for a show pony or horse, the combination of acrupper having rigid members embedded in the sides thereof near theforward ends thereof, metal posts secured to and extending upward fromsaid members on each side of said crupper, harness means for maintainingthe crupper in position on the animal with the tail passing through therearward portion of said crupper, an upstanding artificial tailsupporting element having downwardly directed ends telescopicallymounted to said posts ahead of the position of the tail, and means foradjustably limiting the telescopic References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 130,939 Phillips Aug. 27, 351,851 CheneyNov. 2, 458,674 Ellis Sept. 1, 1,011,292 Wallace Dec. 12, 2,624,996Laningham Jan. 13, 2,763,111 Turner Sept. 18,

1. IN A HARNESS APPARATUS FOR A SHOW PONY OR HORSE, THE COMBINATION OF ACRUPPER HAVING RIGID MEMBERS EMBEDDED IN THE SIDES THEREOF NEAR THEFORWARD ENDS THEREOF, METAL POSTS SECURED TO AND EXTENDING UPWARD FROMSAID MEMBERS ON EACH SIDE OF SAID CRUPPER, HARNESS MEANS FOR MAINTAININGTHE CRUPPER IN POSITION ON THE ANIMAL WITH THE TAIL PASSING THROUGH THEREARWARD PORTION OF SAID CRUPPER, AN UPSTANDING ARTIFICIAL TAILSUPPORTING ELEMENT HAVING DOWNWARDLY DIRECTED ENDS TELESCOPICALLYMOUNTED TO SAID POSTS AHEAD OF THE POSITION OF THE TAIL, AND MEANS FORADJUSTABLY LIMITING THE TELESCOPIC OVERLAP OF SAID ENDS AND SAID POSTSTO ADJUST THE EFFECTIVE HEIGHT OF SAID SUPPORTING ELEMENT.